At least 16 people have been killed in a fire at a nightclub in Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé, the government has said.
The blaze was “accidental” and caused by fireworks being used in the club, it added.
At least eight others were seriously injured in the fire in the early hours of Sunday at Liv’s Night Club.
The fire engulfed the main room of the venue in the capital’s upmarket Bastos district.
“The tragedy, which was caused by explosions from the fireworks often used in these places, first consumed the building’s ceiling, resulting in two very loud explosions, causing panic and a stampede,” the government’s communications ministry said in a statement, AFP news agency reports.
About 100 people gathered outside a hospital morgue for news about their relatives.
“I’ve lost my little brother. He was a good, kind boy who has been working in this club for about two months,” Stephane Hamza, 38, told AFP.
“When I heard about the explosion, I came to the morgue where I was told he was dead.”